Color Of Water
Elevating Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and other voices of color to change the narrative around water.
Rhysea Agrawal
The Xylom
Sonali Abraham
Pacific Institute
Bleu Adams
IndigeHub
Michael Méndez
UC Irvine
Jessica Dandridge-Smith
The Water Collaborative
Sidney Opiyo
University of California, Santa Cruz
Pablo Ortiz
Union of Concerned Scientists
Jessica Thrasher
Colorado State University
Rob Larson
Grand Valley State University
Shandin Pete
University of British Columbia
Nathaniel I Kollie
University of California Santa Cruz
Julia Fay Bernal
Pueblo Action Alliance
Newsha Ajami
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
Daniela Sherrill
ASU / AZ Water for All
Shama Perveen
CERES
Silvia R. Gonzalez
UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute
Priscila Alves
University of Maryland
Oday Salim
University of Michigan Law School
Jasmine Walker
IMPACT Community Action
Ani Jayakaran
Washington State University
Beth Roach
Sierra Club
Monica Driggers
Massachusetts Rivers Alliance
Patricia Lindsay-Harvey
Willingboro Municipal Utilities Authority
Heather Tanana
University of California, Irvine
Lucero Sanchez
San Diego Coastkeeper
Angel Santiago Fernandez-Bou
Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
Marc Oliver Quijano
Jacobs
Gabe Vasquez
US Congress
Dezaraye Bagalayos
Allensworth Progressive Association
Alex Ortiz
Austin Water and Wastewater Commission
Sydney Garcia
The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
Joaquin Esquivel
California State Water Resources Control Board
Cheyanne Harris
Brown and Caldwell
Ehab Meselhe
Tulane University
Khalid Osman
Stanford University
André Sanchez
California Wilderness Coalition
Tanner Yess
Groundwork USA
Jeremy Orr
Earthjustice
Ngodoo Atume
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
Allen Townsend
World Wildlife Fund
Jazmin Ricks
University of Pennsylvania
Chakena Sims
NRDC
Marccus Hendricks
University of Maryland - College Park
Brenda Coley
Milwaukee Water Commons
Vicky Espinoza
CaliWaterAg
Charles Cassagnol
Western Ecology, LLC
Pallavi Bharadwaj
SEG
Harshini Ratnayaka
Save the Dunes
Kedar Dabhadkar
Lam Research
Huda Alkaff
Wisconsin Green Muslims
Nusrat Molla
Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University
Pedro Hernandez
GreenLatinos
Thea Louis
MSC Industrial Supply Co.
Susana De Anda
Community Water Center
Quentin Stubbs
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Chriscilia Cox
SUMA Consulting LLC
Arohi Sharma
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Rene Henery
Trout Unlimited/ University of Nevada, Reno
Cindy Donis
East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice
Sanjiv Sinha
Corvias Infrastructure Solutions, LLC.
Lenise Marrero
Brown and Caldwell
Frank Ruiz
The Office of U.S. Representative Raul Ruiz
Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš
Azul
Paula Buchanan
National Center for Domestic Preparedness (NCDP), Columbia Climate School
Rhea Drozdenko
Connecticut River Conservancy
Cate Mingoya-LaFortune
Groundwork USA
Jo Banner
The Descendants Project
Bridget Ray
Washington State Department of Commerce
Nasim Pica
WSP in the U.S.
Nicole Chavas
Greenprint Partners
Xochitl Bervera
Near Futures Projects/Water is Life Oysters
Tanasia Swift
Billion Oyster Project
Jaiden Willeto
Northern Arizona University / K'é Infoshop
Sri Vedachalam
Cisolutions
Alastair Bitsóí
Navajo Nation Office of the President and Vice President
Fernando Ramirez
Bridges 2023 International
Maisah Khan
Regenerative Agriculture Foundation
Crystal Sanders-Alvarado
Seaworthy
Ean Tafoya
GreenLatinos
Cheyenne Holliday
Verde
Felice Green
Milwaukee Water Commons
Mahtaab Bagherzadeh
NWF/Clean Water for All
Bre’Shaun Reddick
Alliance for the Great Lakes
Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud
Bayou City Waterkeeper
Val Schull
GreenLatinos
Olga Morales Pate
Rural Community Assistance Partnership Incorporated
Roland Jones
CIS
Diana Piña Yitbarek
NC Department of Environmental Quality
Olga Cano
HUD
Usman Mahmood
Bayou City Waterkeeper
José M. Rodríguez-Flores
California State University, Monterey Bay
Damian Shapes Padilla
Spirit Rock Consulting
Chauncey Foster
we.grow.eco
Emma Robbins
The Chapter House
Alai Reyes-Santos
University of Oregon
Jahan Taganova
City and County of Denver
Ashwin Dhanasekar
Brown and Caldwell
Cathie Chavez-Morris
Equidad Group
Julian Gonzalez
Earthjustice
Carlos Moran
Northeast Trees
Nataly Escobedo Garcia
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
Jacob Bernal
American Rivers
Nureen Faiza Anisha
Oregon State University
Ciara Horne
SBG Digital
Nahal G. Ipakchi
BluePoint Planning
Aria Harris
TYLin
Tiffany Sevilla
Greenprint Partners
Esteban Ortiz
The Gorge Association of Aspirations/La Asociacion de Aspiraciones del Gorge
Nicole Nelson
Equity Legal Services, Inc
Tony Bridges
The Maryland General Assembly
Afia Zakiya
Independent Africana Studies and EJ scholar-activist, currently Executive Director of Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation
Parsa Saffarinia
University of California, Davis
Alondra Hernandez-Bose
WEAT
Briana Muñoz
Pacific Coast Carbon LLC
Martin Griffin
Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District
Sapna Mulki
Environmental Policy Innovation Center
Kimbaya Carriere
Nuxalk First Nation
Jose Luis Ortiz y Muniz
Greenroots Institute
Ruthie Redmond
UC Berkeley
Sandi Matsumoto
The Nature Conservancy
Ayako Tischler
Moonshot Missions
Wendy “Poppy” Ferris-George
Ferris Institute
Danielle Rivera
University of California Berkeley
Mallika Nocco
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Joy Banner
The Descendants Project
Rachele Lopez
Justice Outside
Angela Mooney D’Arcy
Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples
Kabir Thatte
The Vessel Collective
Nikki Tulley
University of Arizona
Maria Elena Kennedy
Kennedy Communications, Inc
maritza mendoza
Empower DC
Ed Marin
Louisville Water
maritza mendoza
Empower DC
Analise Rivero
California Trout
Elizabeth Ruiz
CA State Water Resources Control Board
Victor Galvan
Denver Mayor's Office for Climate Action, Sustainability and Resilience
Cate Caldwell
Illinois Environmental Council
Carolan Sonderegger
For Love of Water
Andrea León-Grossmann
Vote Solar
Mariana Del Valle Prieto Cervantes
GreenLatinos
Veronica Garibay
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
Temiloluwa Akinyemi
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Carlos Calderon
West Michigan Environmental Action Council
Arsum Pathak
National Wildlife Federation
Andrian Lee
BCM Environmental and Land Law, PLLC
Gia Moreno
Hood Community Council
Keiko Wilkins
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Angela Guyadeen
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Nadine Robertson
Veolia North America
Crystal Davis
National Parks Conservation Association
Billie Li
Wright-Pierce
Dira Johanif
Charles River Climate Compact
Breanna Gonzalez
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Vinicius Taguchi
North Carolina State University
Cyatharine Alias
Center for Neighborhood Technology
Alyssa Senturk
California Water Data Consortium
Oluwole (OJ) McFoy
Houston Public Works
Adriana Renteria
State Water Board
Benu Amun Ra
S.A.C.R.Ed Eco-Center
Daniel Cordalis
Native American Rights Fund
Charming Evelyn
OceanWell Water
Sarah Traore
The University of Texas at Austin
Emily Warren Armitano
Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
Angela M Chalk
Healthy Community Resources Services
Walt Walker
TYLin
Talia London
The Common Acre
John Echohawk
Native American Rights Fund
Pita Juarez
Comms Consultant
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About Us
The Color of Water Initiative was created by the Water Hub to build voice and visibility for people of color in the water movement. Our goal is to connect reporters with a more diverse set of experts, and build capacity for these experts to elevate the stories of their communities, which have often been left out of conversations around water.
From water access and drought response in the West to lead pipes and PFAS pollution in the Great Lakes to recurring flooding and water infrastructure failures in the South, Color of Water members have deep expertise and first-hand experience on water challenges and solutions all across the country.
Read the joint statement by Color of Water members on the importance of equity in the water world.
experts across the country
Register to Join our Expert Directory
If you identify as a person of color with expertise in water (including lived experience or ancestral knowledge) or work in fields that intersect with water (like health, farming, housing, planning, etc.) please submit your information to us!
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What are Color of Water members talking about?

Tree ambassadors help Milwaukee residents fall in love with trees » Yale Climate Connections
Yale Climate Connections is a nonpartisan, multimedia service providing daily broadcast radio programming and original web-based reporting, commentary, and analysis on the issue of climate
VOICES: Why Michigan’s data center fight is really about who gets to decide – Planet Detroit
Data centers are being developed in Michigan, but local concerns about environmental impacts and community effects are being overlooked. [from Planet Detroit]

2.9 billion gallons of clean drinking water added to California’s supply with new investments | Governor of California
[from Governor of California]